Abstract
This chapter explains why and how the Faith Development Interview (FDI) allows the reconstruction of biographical paths to xenosophia and how this was realized in the Bielefeld Study of Xenosophia and Religion in Germany. Thus, we first describe the conceptual framework in Fowler’s theory and research and the model of religious styles, to locate xenosophia in this framework. Second, we detail the evaluation procedure of the FDI , including the explication of our current methodological modifications of the FDI evaluation procedure, which, beyond the structural-developmental analysis, includes the interpretation of narratives and content dimensions that are elicited by the FDI questions. Finally, we explain the triangulation of FDI evaluations with questionnaire data, from which case studies profit greatly.
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Notes
- 1.
A note on terminology: We use in this chapter and many other chapters of this book not only the term ‘style,’ but also the term ‘stage.’ This is consistent with the 3rd edition of the Manual for Faith Development Research, which was used for evaluation. But it is important to note that we associate with ‘stage’ not the entire set of structural-developmental assumptions, but rather understand ‘stage’ as synonymous with, or interpreted by, ‘style.’ In the 4th revised re vision (Streib & Keller, 2018), we only use ‘style’ to turn to a consistent terminology.
- 2.
We present the version of the FDI questions (follow-up questions are in brackets) as used in our current research. In this version, some questions, as they are presented in the Manual for Faith Development Research (also in the 3rd edition: Fowler, Streib, & Keller, 2004), have been slightly modified in order to be more inclusive in regard to the variety of religious traditions and worldviews; for example, in question 20, the adjectives “spiritual” and “faithful” have been added; or in question 4, “image of God and relation to God” has been exchanged by “world view” in the main question, and the phrase “image of God and the Divine” has been moved to a follow-up question.
- 3.
Field work with the FDI in 1970s and 1980s even used the so-called “Life Tapestry Exercise” (see Fowler, Streib, & Keller, 2004, p. 69), a paper with several columns (calendar year; age; geographic and socio-economic place, key relationships; uses and directions of self; marker events; events in society; images of God; value centers; authorities). The respondents were asked to fill this out prior to the interview. The interviewee and the interviewer had the “Life tapestry sheet” in front of them in many interviews. And even when we do not use the “Life Tapestry Exercise” anymore, autobiographical reflection and autobiographical narration are triggered in the FDI.
- 4.
With more than 900 FDIs, the Bielefeld Research Center for Biographical Studies in Contemporary Religion has the privilege of owning a considerable FDI data base (probably the largest in the world) with considerable cross-cultural and cross-religious diversity.
- 5.
See our website for this project at http://www.uni-bielefeld.de/religiousstylesdevelopment/
- 6.
In the meantime, we have completed the 4th revision of the Manual (Streib & Keller, 2018) and recommend this for future use in research with the FDI.
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Streib, H., Keller, B. (2018). How Faith Development Interviews Reflect Biographical Paths to Xenosophia: Conceptual and Methodological Considerations. In: Streib, H., Klein, C. (eds) Xenosophia and Religion. Biographical and Statistical Paths for a Culture of Welcome. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-74564-0_3
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